Civil case against BPD dropped

A civil case claiming excessive force against the Barnstable Police Department was dismissed Nov. 14, three days before it was to go to trial.

TBP

Trial for excessive force complaint was to start Nov. 17

A civil case claiming excessive force against the Barnstable Police Department was dismissed Nov. 14, three days before it was to go to trial.

John Nikas was convicted on a number of charges stemming from a March 2005 incident with police in Hyannis, including intent to murder a police officer. He pleaded guilty to all of the charges brought against him and is currently serving five years in state prison.

Nikas claimed that members of the police department used excessive force during his 2005 arrest. He sought $4 million in damages.

The police and town defendants in the case denied the claims.

In the joint stipulation of dismissal, all claims against the town and named officers and right to appeal were dismissed “with prejudice, without costs or attorneys fees, and with all rights of appeal being waived.”

Up until Oct. 6, Nikas represented himself in the case, which was first filed in Suffolk Superior Court in June 2007 and later moved to federal court. A court-appointed attorney took over in October and signed the dismissal document.

The attorney representing the police department did not return a call for comment.